Overshoe.



No.736,156. PATENTEDAUG.11-,19U3.

' 'A.B. ROBERTS.

OVERSHOB.

' APPLICATION FILED DEC. 5, 1901.

. 1T0 MODEL.

5 ms PEYERS ca, PHOTO-H1140" WASHINGTON. n. c.

1%. refi es.

UNITED STATES Patented August 11, 1963.

PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT E. ROBERTS, OF NORWALK, OHIO, A SSIGN OR OF ONE-HALF TO .NOADIAH P. BOWLER,

OF CLEVELAND, 01110.

ovsRsHoE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 736,156, dated August 11, 1903.

Application filed December 5, 1901. Serial No. 84,767. (No model.)

To (ZZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALBERT E. ROBERTS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Nor- Walk, in the county of Huron and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Overshoes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

The invention relates to so-called sandal overshoes.

The object of the invention is to providea sandal overshoe which by reason of its construction will hold firmly to the shoe and lie so closely against the upper of the shoe as to substantially prevent water from passing into the overshoe. 1

The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts hereinafter described, and pointed out definitely in the claims. l

In leather shoes "as now constructed the heel portion above the lifts is curved rearvention.

ward, wherefore the distance in a straight line between the toe of the shoe and the rear part of the heel increases materially from the lifts upward for a greater or less distance.

The overshoe constituting this invention is constructed with a view to utilizing the rearwardly-curved or bulging part of the heel of a leather shoe as a wedge, which when the shoe is forced down into the overshoe will increase the length between the front and rear ends of the overshoe-upper, with the result that the distance between the sides of said upper is decreased, thus producing the result above stated to be the object of the in- In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of an overshoe embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof,bothof said figures showing the normal condition and shape of said overshoe. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of said overshoe on a leather shoe to which it is fitted, the overshoe being broken away at its extreme front and rear ends to better show the construction. Fig. elis a side elevation of the overshoe, showing in full lines its shape when on a leather shoe and through one side of the overshoe on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a sectional view on the line 6 6 of'Fig. 2, showing the position of the upper relative to the sole when the overshoe is not in operative position on a leather shoe; and Fig. 7 is a sectional view online 7 7 of Fig. 3, showing the relative position of said parts when the overshoe in in operative position on a leather shoe.

' The overshoe is composed of a sole A and an integral upper B and is made of the usual materials employed in' making rubber overshoes. For convenience of description the sole may be assumed to consist of a front portion a, (which is the part lyingin front of the point indicated by e,) the heel portion of, (which is the part lying behind the point indicated by e,) and .the intermediate shank portion (1 The upper is an upwardly-extended flange which is continuous around the sole, and for convenience of description the different portions thereof will be referred to as the front part b, the heel part b, and the intermediate shank partb. The upper is highest at the rear of the heel partb, so as to be capable of embracing the outwardlycurved heel of the leather shoe and is of gradually-decreasing height forward therefrom substantially to the points (indicated by b) where the shank part b is merged into the front part 19 0f the upper. The front part of the upper is of substantially uniform theight, being a little higher than the thickness of the sole d of the leather shoeD, to which it is fitted. In the form in which the overshoe is molded the front part of the sole curves upward, and when it is in this normal condition the front portion 12 of the upper lies (or may lie) in substantially right angles to the adjacent parts of the sole. As a matter of fact, this portion b of the upper does fall inward a little, due principally to the fact that it is made of thin material which is not stiff enough to hold itself erect. On

the inner side of the front portion of the upper is an internal bead, b which is located near its edge and is continuous around the parts of the top edge of the front part of the upper, but its alined continuation, the bead b lies at grad ually-increasing distances from the top edges of the shank and heel parts of the upper, said bead being farthest from the edge of the upper atthe rear part of the heel, and also farthest at this point from the sole of the overshoe. This head 12 is, however,

located on that part of the overshoe-heel which will engage with the rearwardly bulged or extended heel of the shoe.

A substantially non stretchable endless loop 0 is embedded in these beads b b and extends entirely around the overshoe. This loop might theoreticallybe made of wire; but a wire has this disadvantage, to wit, that if the overshoe should be bent the wire would also be bent, and unless it were made of an excellent quality of tempered steel the bend in the wire would be permanent. This would interfere with the proper fit of the overshoe, if it did not altogether prevent the operation to be described. A flexible and substantially non-stretchable cord, with its ends joined to form an endless loop, is therefore employed, because the several parts thereof cannot by bending them be permanently set out of the substantial straightawayform which the loop must have to operate as intended and as hereinafter described.

When a shoe D is inserted into this overshoe, it neoessarilystraightens out to agreater or less extent the curved front portion of the sole A, and. this by so much increases the distance between the front end of the toe and the rear end of the heel. As the outwardlycurved heel part of the shoe D is forced down into the overshoe it acts as a Wedge which pulls the heel part b and the rear part of the cord rearward. Because the front end of the toe is prevented from moving rearwardly by the sole of the'shoe D this wedge action also increases the longitudinal axis of the loop 0, the sides of which loop are correspondingly drawn inward because of the straight-away form of said sides and the non-stretchable form of said loop. The result is that the sides of the overshoe upper are drawn snugly against the sides of the shoe and the bead b is drawn into the crease between the sole of the shoe and the upper. By locating the bead b outside rather than inside the heel of the overshoe the inner surface of said heel remains sufficiently smooth to permit the insertion of the heel of the shoe D with the stated result.

It will be noticed that the bead b is not at the extreme top edge of the front part of the upper, but that above it is a narrow flange, which as the upper is drawn inward, carrying the bead b into the crease between the sole and upper, will be drawn snugly against the upper of the shoe D, thereby in a large measure preventing the admission of water between it and the shoe and contributing also very much to the neatness of appearance of the overshoe when on the shoe D.

Having described my invention, I claim 1. As a new article of manufacture, a sandal overshoe having a flexible upper which is highest at the rear of the heel portion and is of gradually-decreasing height therefrom toward the points near thefront ends of the shank portion, and is in front of said points only a little higher than the sole of the shoe to which the overshoe is fitted, there being an internal bead in said front part of the upper near its top edge, and an endless substantially non-stretchable loop extending entirely around the upper and embedded therein, the front part of said loop being embedded in said bead, and the rear part thereof being embedded in that part of the heel portion of the upper which will engage with the rearwardly-curved heel part of a shoe, to which the overshoe is fitted, about midway between the top and bottom of the counter of said heel, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. As a new article of manufacture, asandal overshoe consisting of a sole whose front portion normally curves upward, and an integral flexible upper whose front part is only a little higher than the sole of the shoe to which the overshoe is fitted, and the rear part is of gradually-increasing height to the rearmost part of the heel, said front part of the upper having an internal bead near the edge thereof, and the rear part of the upper having an external bead in alinement with the bead first named and located substantially as described on that part of the heel portion of the upper which will engage with the rearwardly-curved heel part of a shoe to which the overshoe is fitted, about midway between the top and the bottom of the counter of said heel, and an endless substantially non stretchable cord extending entirely around the overshoe and embedded in, said head, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a sandal overshoe consisting of a sole and an integral flexible upper whose front part is only a little higher than the sole of a shoe to which the overshoe is fitted and whose rear part is of such height as to embrace the outwardly-bulged heel part of the upper of a shoe to which the overshoe is fitted, there be-.

ing an internal bead in said front part of the upper near its edge, and an external bead,

in straightaway alinement with said internal bedded in said beads, substantially as and bead, located on the heel portion of said overfor the purpose specified. KO shoe-upper and on that part thereof which In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my will engage with the rearwardly-bulged heel signature in the presence of two witnesses.

part of the shoe about midway between the V ALBERT E. ROBERTS. top and bottom of the counter, and an end- Witnesses:

less substantially non-stretchable cord ex- E. L. THURSTON,

tending entirely around the upper and em- E. B. GILCHRIST. 

